


Between Two Worlds

by zathara001



Series: Of Two Worlds [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 01:59:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8949220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zathara001/pseuds/zathara001
Summary: Oliver keeps his promise to Kara to help train the new hero, Guardian.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: This is a sequel to An Unexpected Request, posted elsewhere on this site. You don't *have* to have read that one for this story to make sense, but I certainly encourage you to.
> 
> Continuity note: I'm tweaking canon just a bit, such that Alex Danvers doesn't find out Jimmy is the Guardian until Kara does. She has suspicions, but Winn never confirmed them.
> 
> As always, all rights in this work are hereby given to DC, The CW, Warner Bros., and whomever else owns the copyright to these characters.

James Olsen didn't think being a hero - a vigilante, according to the press - would ever get old. Exhausting, maybe, he thought as he raced through the streets of National City on his motorcycle at an hour when many people were heading to bed, but not old.

 

For just a moment, he envied Kara Danvers her alien physiology that meant she didn't require as much sleep as he did. But he'd been experimenting with polyphasic sleep and studying techniques used by Navy SEALs and other special forces units, and, if he did say so himself, he was getting used to the odd ours the work required.

 

Of course James shared what he discovered with Winn, but his _man in the van_ seemed to be having more trouble adapting than he was. James hoped Winn would adapt - he couldn't do this alone.

 

"Alarm." Winn's voice came through his comm. "Adams Jewelers at the corner of Binder and Swan."

 

"On my way," James acknowledged, and gunned the engine.

 

Minutes later, he skidded to a stop in front of the jewelry store.

 

The door stood open, and James approached cautiously. "Talk to me," he said to Winn.

 

"Someone cut power, at least to the video," Winn replied, anxiety edging his tone. "I got nothing."

 

 _Dammit_. But there was nothing to be done for it, and when James eased his head around the door, he couldn't believe what he saw.

 

One man, hooded, with a bow and arrow, of all things, stood over the bodies of two security guards.

 

S * S * S

 

_Four hours earlier…._

 

The portal appeared just shy of six p.m. Oliver Queen was ready when it did - or, maybe not _ready_ so much as prepared, he admitted privately - dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and leather jacket, a duffel containing his gear within reach.

 

Beside him, Thea started. "That's - weirdly cool."

 

"Or just weird," Oliver corrected. "I'll be back soon."

 

"Forty-eight hours," Thea said. "Or we're coming to get you."

 

"I remember." He grabbed the duffel and stepped through the portal…

 

And into a facility that reminded him of A.R.G.U.S. headquarters, not just because of the array of weapons aimed at him.

 

He scanned the faces of the people holding those weapons - a black man with a careworn face and an expression caught between annoyance and anger, a white woman with auburn hair and a determined expression, and a petite Mediterranean-looking woman with a scowl that could rival his own.

 

The portal closed behind him before he could dive back through it, so Oliver held still. "My apologies," he said. "I think I've come to the wrong Earth -"

 

"Oliver!"

 

He recognized the voice, and even as he turned to see Kara rushing toward him, bright cape billowing behind her, he registered that the others were lowering their weapons.

 

Then Kara's arms were around him. "Thanks for coming."

 

He hugged her back, briefly. "Any time. Though I wasn't expecting a welcoming committee."

 

Kara pulled away and turned to the others. "See, I told you it would be him. This is Oliver Queen, also known on his Earth as Green Arrow."

 

The black man holstered his weapon. "I have enough headaches with aliens. I don't need dimensional travelers, too."

 

Oliver met the man's gaze. "I'm just here as a favor to Supergirl."

 

The other man grimaced and turned away. "Try not to break anything."

 

"That's Hank," Kara said.

 

"Director Henshaw," the auburn-haired woman clarified. "I'm Agent Danvers."

 

"My sister, Alex," Kara said. "And Detective Maggie Sawyer, NCPD."

 

"More of a welcome than I was expecting." Oliver shook hands with each woman in turn.

 

"Well," Kara said, "I saw enough of how you operate on your Earth, and Barry told me some stories. I figure you'll need some help, so here it is. Welcome to the Department of Extranormal Operations."

 

If Oliver had learned anything over the years, it was how to keep going through unexpected situations. He pushed his curiosity about the DEO aside for the moment. "All right. What do you know about this … Guardian?"

 

"Not much. He just showed up recently, and he's got lead in his mask so I can't identify him." Kara gestured toward a bank of computers. "And Alex thinks he has a partner."

 

"Why?" Oliver asked.

 

"He always seems to be one step ahead of his opponents in a fight," Alex answered. "Either he's really that good, or he has someone working with him."

 

"Do you have video?"

 

"Some," Alex answered.

 

"Then let's take a look."

 


	2. Chapter 2

"Stand down!" James called from the doorway. The man with the bow turned his head to face James, but otherwise didn't move. "Drop your bow."

 

In his ear, Winn said, "The police are on the way."

 

James started forward, not deterred when the archer loosed an arrow at him. He raised his arm, expanding his shield, and the arrow clanged harmlessly aside.

 

"It'll take more than that to stop me," he told the archer.

 

The archer nocked and loosed two more arrows in almost blinding succession. James raised his arm to block the first one, but the second one … the second one expanded into some kind of cabling that wrapped around his ankles and tightened, pulling him off balance.

 

James struggled to keep his footing, felt himself falling anyway, and then the archer was moving, bolting toward James - no, he realized a moment later. The archer was heading for the door.

 

James raised one arm to fire one of the several non-lethal weapons Winn had built into the suit, but the archer ran in an erratic pattern, and James couldn't target him effectively. Then the archer was out the door.

 

"Tell me you put a knife of some kind in here," James said to Winn.

 

The reply came immediately. "Yeah, in the bracer on your right arm."

 

James activated the control that sprung the blade free and started to saw through the cables binding his ankles. They were tougher than he'd expected for their size. "Where is he?"

 

"He jumped on a motorcycle and took off."

 

"You tracking him?"

 

"Please." Winn sounded deeply offended. "I'm also following him - well behind him, but still. I'll send you the directions."

 

S * S * S

 

Winn Schott pulled the van to a stop a block away from the warehouse he'd tracked the hooded archer to. At first he hadn't been enthusiastic when James decided to become a vigilante-hero, but now he realized he enjoyed it as much as James did.

 

But this archer - something about him wasn't adding up. Winn hated it when things didn't add up. He slipped out of the driver's seat and into the chair at the workstation. There was more to the situation, if he could only find it.

 

He sent the location to James and had just called up a nifty search algorithm he'd written when the rear door to the van opened. Winn jumped, then froze when he saw an arrow aimed at him.

 

"Forgot to lock it," he muttered.

 

"A lock wouldn't stop me." The voice was filtered electronically, somehow, and beneath the part of his mind that was screaming in terror, Winn itched to get his fingers on the tech behind it. "Can we agree that if I wanted you dead, you would be dead right now?"

 

"So - you _don't_ want me dead?" Winn asked.

 

"Answer the question."

 

Winn swallowed. "Yeah, I guess. Yes."

 

"Good. Tell Guardian that the warehouse looks deserted and there's no surveillance."

 

Winn swallowed. "Guardian? I don't know -"

 

"Yes, you do. Tell him."

 

That tone had to be obeyed, Winn realized, if only because the archer could decide to want him dead at any second. He swallowed to moisten a throat gone dry, then relayed the information to James. If his voice was shakier than usual, James didn't comment on it.

 

Winn looked back at the archer.

 

"Get on the floor."

 

Winn blinked, couldn't help glancing down. "The floor?"

 

"Unless you want to risk a concussion by falling out of your chair when I sedate you."

 

Winn got down onto the floor.

 

"You'll be out a couple of hours," the archer told him.

 

"And then what?" Winn asked, but the sting in his neck distracted him. He pulled the needle-tipped arrow out of his neck and stared at it even as his vision narrowed and the world went black around him.

 

S * S * S

 

_Three hours earlier…_

 

Oliver turned away from the monitors where he'd watched what little footage existed of the man calling himself Guardian a dozen times. Kara, Alex, and Detective Sawyer sat with him.

 

"He's got good instincts," Oliver said, "and some training. Not a lot of practical experience."

 

"He's only been around a couple of weeks," Sawyer said. "How good were you when you first started?"

 

"By the time I put on the hood, I'd already worked for an organization a lot like this one and with the Russian mob. I knew what I was getting into."

 

"You had?" Kara sounded surprised. "I mean - I didn't know that."

 

"Not a lot of people do," Oliver told her, and something in her expression made him add, "Even Barry doesn't. But that's not relevant. If you want me to assess and train this guy, we'll have to draw him out, and then lure him someplace empty, without civilians to worry about. What would do that?"

 

The three women exchanged glances, and Alex said, "Nothing big enough to draw Supergirl's attention. Bank robbery?"

 

Sawyer shook her head. "Too much paperwork. Jewelry heist?"

 

Oliver nodded. "That seems like something he'd respond to. How are we going to fake that, though?"

 

Kara smiled. "You'll see. Suit up."

 

S * S * S

 

Oliver hung back as Kara and Detective Sawyer approached Adams Jewelers and, of all things, _knocked_ on the closed door.

 

Two security guards approached from the inside, and while Sawyer flashed her badge, Kara rose from the ground and did a complicated loop-de-loop that included flying up and over the building across the street before landing outside the jewelry store once again.

 

"Can we talk to you for a minute?" she asked. Oliver wasn't certain they could hear her, but her meaning must have gotten across because the door opened a minute later.

 

Oliver smiled to himself as the women explained what they wanted. His own relationship with the people of Star City had never been as cordial as Kara's appeared to be with the people of National City, and probably never would be, if he were honest with himself. But his mission was different than Kara's, and what worked for her wouldn't necessarily work for him.

 

"Okay." Kara came back to him. "They're willing to work with us. What now?"


	3. Chapter 3

James eased his motorcycle to a stop and approached the warehouse cautiously. Winn's report hadn't done anything to lessen the sense that he was heading into a trap - but who would want to trap him and why?

 

He had no answer to that, but he did know the archer was a threat, and so he proceeded carefully. He circled the warehouse warily, alert for any signs of movement within, but the street lights barely penetrated the grimy windows, and there were no lights inside.

 

James returned to a side access door he'd found - no sense going in the obvious way.

 

He kicked the door open and dodged away from the opening.

 

The arrow he was expecting never came.

 

He counted to ten, then twenty, then thirty, and still there was no activity inside. Had the archer evaded them somehow?

 

"Yo, Winn," James said into his comm. "You sure he's in there?"

 

When there was no answer, James said again, "Winn?"

 

Still no answer. James cursed under his breath and debated whether to continue into the warehouse or check on the van. The warehouse ultimately won, if only to avoid giving away the van's location in case the archer hadn't already found it.

 

Steeling himself, and activating his shield, James dove and rolled through the open door.

 

He'd just gotten to his feet when a shadow detached itself from the darkness in the warehouse and kicked him in the stomach.

 

His armor absorbed a lot of the blow, but still James staggered back a couple of steps. He steadied himself, and searched for his attacker in the darkness.

 

Another blow landed on his back, just above his kidney, and James staggered again, but whipped one arm around to strike at his attacker.

 

It met empty air.

 

James couldn't reasonably call what followed a fight. He got a few blows in, and some of them even solid ones, but he was clearly outmatched. Finally, he stood, panting, waiting for the next attack.

 

When it came, it came verbally.

 

"Stop trying to see your opponent." The voice was electronically filtered, deep and commanding. "Use your other senses."

 

"You trying to teach me to be better before you kill me?" James asked.

 

"I'm not here to kill you." The voice echoed through the space, and James strained to detect its source. "I'm here to help."

 

The lights came on, and James blinked rapidly, willing his eyes to adjust. When they finally did, he scanned the room and saw the archer in the green outfit standing against the wall beside the door where he'd come in.

 

"You call this help?" James demanded, anger welling within him.

 

"I call it evaluation so I know how to help."

 

"Who are you to think you can help me?"

 

"Where I come from, I'm called Green Arrow. Here, I'm just a friend of Supergirl's." The archer - what kind of code name was Green Arrow, anyway? - crossed the space between them, paused a few feet from him. "She asked my opinion."

 

"Why would she trust your opinion?" Now curiosity fought with anger for dominance among his emotions.

 

"She fought beside me and my friends to stop an alien invasion. And I've been doing this almost ten years - long enough to have made a lot of mistakes. I'm hoping to help you avoid making some of them."

 

"You robbed a jewelry store -"

 

"No." There was a hint of amusement in the archer's voice, even filtered as it was. "It was a set-up. People will do a lot for her if she asks."

 

"Including you," James observed.

 

"Including me." Now that he was closer, James could see that he wore a mask beneath the hood that shadowed the upper half of his face. He cocked his head slightly. "So. You up for it?"

 

"Up for what?"

 

"Non-powered heroes 101. Basic training. Survival tactics. Call it what you will."

 

It was on the tip of James' tongue to refuse - whether or not Kara had asked for this man's opinion or assistance. But the memory of his few fights, and how each of them had almost gone sideways at the worst moment, made him hesitate.

 

After a moment, he blew out a breath. "I don't work alone."

 

"For this you will. You have to learn to operate alone if someone incapacitates your partner."

 

The words sent fear chilling down James' spine. "What did you do?"

 

"He'll wake up soon. The mobile unit is a good idea, but he shouldn't park so close to where you operate. The same van at every location - not smart."

 

James could only stare at him. "Who gave you the right -"

 

"We put on the masks because we want to help. We won't be able to help if we don't acknowledge every possibility - including that our backup can be found and taken out. The question is, do you want to do it well, or do you want to fumble around and be more a hindrance than the help you want to be?"

 

There was only one answer to that question, and still James hesitated to give it. Kara had told him about her recent trip to another Earth, Barry Allen's Earth, and the heroes she'd met there. One of them was Green Arrow. But why would she bring someone from another Earth to train him?

 

It wasn't for training, he realized. It was for testing. She didn't trust him - and why should she, when she didn't know who he was?

 

If she were testing him, then he'd pass.

 

"Yeah," he said. "I'm up for it."

 

S * S * S

 

Some time later - Oliver's internal clock suggested it had been a couple of hours - James asked for a break. Oliver nodded and sank to the floor. Opposite him, Guardian did the same.

 

"You can take off the helmet if you want," Oliver told him. "It's not like I'd know who you are."

 

Guardian reached for the chin strap of his helmet, paused midway, and lowered his hands. "I'd better not."

 

Oliver smiled a little. The other man's caution did him credit. Still, he had to point out that, "Covering your face is good, but you've got crap for peripheral vision in that helmet."

 

Guardian's mouth quirked into a smile. "Says the man who wears a hood."

 

"Fair point," Oliver admitted. "But I can still hear clearly, and we started off this training with the dangers of relying only on sight. You'll have to work on developing situational awareness."

 

"That's what W- my man in the van is for."

 

"He should be waking up about now," Oliver said, and concealed a grin at the other man's groan. "So, yeah - situational awareness. Gut instinct - whatever you want to call it, you've got to work on it."

 

Guardian nodded, then rose to his feet. "I should check on him."

 

Oliver stood, as well. "I should probably apologize."

 

A whisper of sound, a scraping so faint he wouldn't have heard it if the warehouse's climate-control system had been cycling, made Oliver whirl in place, bow drawn and an arrow nocked before he thought.

 

Across the warehouse, the man from the van froze, his hands held out in a placating gesture. "Whoa - it's just me, man."

 

Oliver lowered his bow.

 

"Situational awareness." Guardian shook his head. "You had your back to him, and I didn't even realize he'd come in."

 

Oliver heard the rueful acknowledgment in Guardian's tone, nodded in acknowledgment. That was one point in his favor, that he understood and accepted where he needed to improve. It had taken Barry a lot longer to reach that same understanding.

 

"You'll do," Oliver told him. "Let's go again."

 


	4. Chapter 4

"Well?" Kara asked when Oliver emerged from the men's room, where he'd changed out of his leathers into civilian clothes. "What do you think?"

 

"Where are your sister and the detective?" Oliver countered. "Shouldn't they hear this, too?"

 

"Out," Kara answered. "Maggie called after you left the jewelry store. There wasn't anything else for her or Alex to do, so they went out."

 

Oliver studied her expression carefully. "Out - on a date?" She nodded. "And you're not comfortable with that."

 

"I want Alex to be happy," Kara said. "She's my sister. But it's new, her wanting to be with women. I'm still adjusting to having my perceptions changed, that's all."

 

Oliver chuckled softly. "At least you don't have to live with having ruined your former girlfriend for other men."

 

"Sorry?"

 

"Sara. She's only been with women since we were together - that I know of," he added.

 

"Mm." Kara, still in her red and blue suit, started toward a bank of elevators. "You were going to tell me what you think of Guardian."

 

"I did everything I could to pack ten years of experience into six hours of lessons."

 

"So you think he's ready."

 

"As ready as any of us ever are," Oliver said, then frowned as he followed Kara onto the elevator and she pushed the button for the top floor. "Where are we going?"

 

"I want to show you something." Kara sounded almost shy, and Oliver glanced at her to see that she was studying her boots with great interest.

 

They were silent until the doors opened, and remained quiet as Kara led him to a stairwell and up another flight. She pushed open the door and Oliver followed her onto the roof.

 

He crossed to the edge, to look out over National City. Unlike his own Starling City - no, it was Star City now, renamed and rebranded for a new, hopefully better, age - it was bright and clean, its contemporary lines sunk deep in classical traditions. For a moment, Oliver wondered just how much history his world and Kara's shared. Questions like that could give him a headache.

 

So he turned to Kara.

 

"What do you want me to see?"

 

"There." Kara pointed toward the horizon. "Do you see Arcturus, there in the ploughman constellation? Wait, do you have an Arcturus? Would you know it even if you do?"

 

Oliver chuckled. "We have Arcturus. I had a lot of time to watch the night sky when I was on the island… Arcturus is the bright one about a thumb width above the horizon, right?"

 

"Right." Kara sounded relieved. "If you look about the five o'clock position from Arcturus, there's a smaller, dimmer star a little way down."

 

"I see it."

 

"That's Krypton," Kara said quietly. "Or where Krypton was. Its light just hasn't gone out yet."

 

Her words were simple and direct. Even so, it took Oliver a moment to understand their full meaning. When that meaning sank in, he turned to stare at her and his voice was rough with sorrow when he spoke.

 

"Kara…"

 

"No," she said firmly. "I don't want you to be sad. I just wanted to share it with you."

 

Oliver could only say, "Thank you."

 

After a while, when his thoughts on life and death of people and stars got too heavy, he said, "How long will its light last?"

 

"The astronomers and physicists could do the math, and probably have, but I don't want to know."

 

Her tone was matter-of-fact, despite the sorrow in the words, and Oliver gave in to the impulse he'd had since she'd pointed out her star to pull her into his arms and hold her. He'd known loss in his life, but nothing like losing his whole world, and he had no words to comfort her.

 

Kara looked up at him. "You must be getting cold."

 

He squeezed her a little tighter. "You're keeping me warm." She started to protest, and he added, "I don't feel the cold as much, after the island."

 

"Still, it's not polite to freeze your guests," she told him. "Hold on."

 

Given that Kara had her arms wrapped around him, Oliver assumed she meant hold on to his duffel bag, so he shifted one hand to grip its strap.

 

Then she was soaring through the sky, and Oliver could admit that yes, this far up with the breeze of the flight, it was damn cold. So he was grateful when it was only a minute or two before she was landing in an alley.

 

"My building's that one." She pointed. "Apartment 4A. I'd fly you in," she added, "but I'm not used to having someone else with me, and -"

 

"It's too much of a risk," Oliver finished for her. "Either you slow down and someone could see you, or you stay at speed and maybe hurt me. I get it."

 

"Thanks." She smiled at him, then hesitated. "It's not the best part of town."

 

"Do you think I'm worried about muggers?"

 

"…Probably not. See you up there."

 

Then she was gone, and Oliver watched after her for a moment, awed and humbled by her powers at the same time. He shook off his musings and started toward her building.

 

At the main entrance, he frowned at the lack of modern security. It was the work of only a few seconds to override the outdated touchpad and let himself in. Carefully, he re-set the lock and looked for the stairs.

 

Minutes later, Kara, clad in a T-shirt and pajama bottoms, was opening the door to 4A wide with a smile.

 

"I don't know how much things cost here," Oliver said as she closed the door behind him, "but a place with a balcony might not be a bad idea."

 

"I thought about that," Kara said. "But that means there'd be other balconies, and people who like sitting on them. Windows are better."

 

"You'd know best," he said, glancing around the apartment.

 

His mother would've called it "charming" or "quaint," and Oliver suspected most of her friends wouldn't have been so polite. He, however, found himself appreciating a residence that was as quirky and cheerful as its owner over one displaying early modern sensitivity tempered by showroom aesthetic.

 

But then, a large part of his life was just for show, wasn't it? He'd have to consider that later, after he returned home to his own Earth, his own life.

 

For now, practicality took over. "Where should I put my gear?"

 

"Over here's fine." Kara led him to a bedroom - _the_ bedroom, he realized.

 

"Kara - I don't expect anything -"

 

Kara cut him off. "You couldn't make me do anything I didn't want to do."

 

He started, then chuckled ruefully. "Fair point."

 

"I thought you'd be more comfortable staying with me than with someone you don't know," Kara explained. "And if it turns into more, it does."

 

She met his gaze evenly, and Oliver wasn't certain whether she wanted it to turn into more or not. But that was fair - he wasn't certain whether _he_ wanted it to turn into more or not.

 

"If it does, it does," he agreed, and dropped his duffel in a corner.

 

Oliver stripped down to his underwear and slid into bed next to Kara. It should have been awkward - or maybe he just supposed it should have been awkward - but it was easy to roll to one side, easy to cuddle her body against his, and easier than he would have expected to fall asleep beside her.

 

S * S * S

 

Oliver woke early - Kara's apartment was just as open to the rising sun as his loft - to find Kara watching him.

 

"Nothing good on TV?" he asked.

 

"This early? Infomercials and reruns of fifty-year-old shows." Then her forehead wrinkled. "Do you have infomercials?"

 

"Our worlds seem to be a lot alike. Yes, we have infomercials."

 

"So, no. Nothing as interesting on TV." Kara's voice took on a deeper resonance, and something in Oliver tightened in response.

 

"It could be more interesting."

 

"It could," she agreed, and stretched up to kiss him.

 

S * S * S

 

Later, as she made breakfast - Oliver shook his head in amazement at her use of heat vision to cook the bacon and pancakes - Kara told him more about her Earth, sketching in a history that mirrored his own world's very closely, save for the presence of aliens on Kara's Earth.

 

"Krypton might still exist," Kara murmured as Oliver helped her clear the dishes away.

 

It was an offhand comment, or so she'd meant it to be. But Oliver remembered her showing him the last light of Krypton, and knew the possible survival of her homeworld, even in another dimension, might bring her comfort.

 

When the dishes were done, Oliver stood with her, leaning against the kitchen counter, enjoying being with her in a way he rarely got to do.

 

"So," Kara said finally. "What would you like to see of my Earth, in the day and a half you have left before Thea comes to rescue you?"

 

"You're not kicking me out now that the job's done?" Oliver allowed a teasing note to enter his voice.

 

She laughed. "No - unless you want to go back already. I thought I'd show you a little of my Earth."

 

"I expect a lot of it's similar to mine, if only because we have a similar history, as far as we can tell."

 

"Similar is not identical," Kara reminded him. "And it's my turn to buy dinner. Wherever you want."

 

"Wherever?"

 

"Wherever. I can fly us to Paris, or New York, or Metropolis - or maybe not Metropolis," she corrected herself. "Too much chance of running into my cousin."

 

"Adoptive?"

 

"Biological. I was supposed to take care of him here on Earth, but my pod got knocked off course. By the time I got here, he was already grown."

 

Oliver felt his eyebrows climbing. "That had to be weird."

 

"A head trip," she agreed. "But we got over it. And we even work together sometimes."

 

"That sounds very strange to me, but it's probably no more strange than some of the things that have happened to me and Thea and the others."

 

"You can tell me about it while I show you the sights," Kara suggested.

 

"Sounds good," Oliver said, and hoped he wouldn't regret it.


	5. Chapter 5

The remainder of his time on Earth-38, as Cisco called it, passed too quickly. Almost before he knew it, Oliver was rechecking his duffel to be sure the few things he'd brought with him were all going back with him.

 

When he sensed Kara's approach behind him, he said, "There's going to be a New Year's Eve get-together at the loft. The Legends won't be there, but Barry and the others will."

 

"You guys get together when you're not saving the world?" Kara asked.

 

"Not as often as we probably should," Oliver admitted, zipping the bag shut. "It's six hundred miles between Star City and Central City. Barry can run it in half an hour or less, but it's an eight or nine hour drive for the rest of us."

 

Kara smiled, and Oliver wondered at the wistfulness in it. But she just said, "It sounds great. I'll try to be there."

 

Oliver rose from his crouch and crossed to face her, cupping her cheek with one hand. "You're always welcome - party or not, saving the world or not."

 

Her smile turned more genuine. "Friends. More or less."

 

Whatever Oliver might have said in reply was lost when a knock echoed from her door. She opened it without looking through the peephole - no, Oliver realized, she didn't have a peephole. Then again, anything that could threaten Supergirl wouldn't be stopped by a door.

 

A white man pushed past her, followed by a black man with a shaved head. Kara looked startled, but not upset, so Oliver stayed where he was.

 

"You're not ready?" the white one - and recognition set in; he'd been in the van last night - demanded. "Alex and Maggie will -"

 

He broke off when he saw Oliver, and the black man who'd followed him into the apartment asked, "Who's this?"

 

"This is Oliver Queen." Kara closed the door. "He's from Barry's Earth. Oliver, this is Winn and James."

 

"Good to meet you." Oliver shook hands with each of them in turn, his polite smile turning a little wider at the white man's - Winn's - somewhat shaken expression.

 

Winn recovered quickly. "Can you run really fast, like he does?"

 

Oliver glanced at Kara - secret identities were supposed to be secret, after all. Then he reminded himself that they were on an entirely different Earth, and they were friends of Kara's. They could probably be trusted with the truth.

 

"No," he said, meeting Winn's eyes. "There are a handful of speedsters on my Earth, but I'm not one of them."

 

"What do you do?" James asked.

 

"I shoot arrows."

 

Oliver saw the moment recognition flickered across their faces - _both_ of their faces. So this James was Guardian, Oliver realized. A friend of Kara's, which both explained and didn't explain why he hadn't told her who he was.

 

Winn recovered first. "So you're the guy from the jewelry store last night."

 

"What guy from what jewelry store?" Kara asked, her tone edging from curious to suspicious.

 

James shrugged. The move looked too casual to Oliver, but Kara didn't seem to notice anything unusual when the other man said, "Somebody sent a cell phone video of some guy dressed like Robin Hood outside a jewelry store to CatCo, but we couldn't confirm it."

 

"If it was Adams Jewelers, that was me," Oliver said, just to see what their reactions might be.

 

"You came all the way to this Earth, just to rob a jewelry store?" Winn demanded.

 

Oliver shook his head. "I didn't rob it."

 

"He trained Barry," Kara put in, "so I asked his help in training Guardian."

 

"How could you train Barry when you can't move as fast as he does?" James asked, and Oliver heard more than just idle interest in the question.

 

"It's not always about the powers," Oliver explained. "It's about tactics and strategy and a dozen other things. I'd go into detail, but my sister's waiting for me."

 

"One question, before you go," Kara said, and Oliver turned to her. "How did you manage to shoot Barry?"

 

Winn's expression was almost a caricature of surprise. "You _shot_ Barry?" he chorused with James.

 

"Just to make a point, and he heals fast," Oliver said. "The short answer is, he didn't case the area. The longer answer is I set up crossbows on a remote-controlled trigger. When he tripped the sensors, they fired."

 

Kara nodded thoughtfully. "That would be how to do it. And it's a good reminder for me to be careful, too. Still, I'm glad you didn't shoot Guardian. I don't think he heals as fast as Barry."

 

"Probably not," Oliver agreed. Then, his internal time sense pinging his awareness, he said, "I should go."

 

"Right," Kara said. "Let me just get Cisco's device."

 

She left the room, and Oliver gave the other two men a polite nod. "Good to meet you," he said, then added very quietly, "Guardian."

 

James smiled and offered his hand. "Good to meet you, Green Arrow."

 

Oliver shook hands with him, then with Winn, who still looked as though his world hadn't righted itself.

 

"Got it." Kara came back into her living room and hugged Oliver. "Thanks for coming."

 

Oliver hugged her tightly. "Any time."

 

"Provided we're not saving the world," Kara corrected, and he had to smile.

 

"The invitation's open for New Year's," Oliver said. He stepped back from Kara and glanced at Winn and James. "You're welcome to come. I'm sure Barry would be glad to see you again."

 

He hoisted his duffel bag over one shoulder even as the portal appeared in front of him. With a last nod, he stepped through.

 

S * S * S

 

Thea was waiting for him, as he'd known she would be, and she barely waited for the portal to close before she barreled into him, hugging him harder than she'd done since he first got back from Lian Yu.

 

"I was about to call Barry and Cisco," she said against his chest.

 

"Some friends of hers stopped by just as I was leaving," Oliver told her, and then just held her as long as she needed it. When she straightened away from him, he added, "I invited her for New Year's."

 

"You like her," Thea said, as ever too perceptive for his comfort.

 

Naturally, he deflected. "Of course. She fought the Dominators with us."

 

"Not what I meant, big brother."

 

Oliver blew out a breath. "It's all I can mean, little sister. We're literally worlds apart - it's hard to find a longer long-distance relationship."

 

Thea nodded, accepting his words, before saying, "I just want you to be happy."

 

"I have you," Oliver said. "And the city. And Felicity, Digg, Barry, and the others. I'm happier than I ever expected to be."

 

His words were true, but if he thought occasionally about a red-and-blue clad blonde with laughing eyes, nobody needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ends the second part of Oliver and Kara's story. For those of you who wanted more romance, I apologize - I couldn't see how this could be anything but a slow build, since they are on two different Earths. That said, the third part of their story should provide what you're looking for! It'll be up soon-ish, probably after the New Year.


End file.
